Loveless (album)

Loveless
A blurred, magenta close-up photo of someone playing guitar
Studio album by
My Bloody Valentine
Released4 November 1991 (1991-11-04)[a]
RecordedFebruary 1989 – September 1991
Genre
Length48:31
LabelCreation
Producer
My Bloody Valentine chronology
Tremolo
(1991) 		Loveless
(1991) 		EP's 1988–1991
(2012)
Singles from Loveless
  1. "Only Shallow"
    Released: March 1992

Loveless (stylized in lowercase) is the second studio album by the Irish-English rock band My Bloody Valentine. It was released on 4 November 1991[a] in the United Kingdom by Creation Records and in the United States by Sire Records. The album was recorded between February 1989 and September 1991, with vocalist and guitarist Kevin Shields leading sessions and experimenting with guitar vibrato, non standard tunings, digital sampling, and meticulous production methods. The band recorded at nineteen different studios and hired several engineers during the album's prolonged recording, with its final production cost rumoured to have reached £250,000 (equivalent to £560,000 in 2024).

Preceded by the EPs Glider (1990) and Tremolo (1991), Loveless reached number 24 on the UK Albums Chart and was widely praised by critics for its sonic innovations and Shields' "virtual reinvention of the guitar".[8] However, after its release, Creation owner Alan McGee dropped the band from the label as he found Shields too difficult to work with, a factor alleged to have contributed to the label's eventual bankruptcy. My Bloody Valentine struggled to record a follow-up to the album and broke up in 1997, making Loveless their last full-length release until their eventual reunited effort m b v in 2013.

Since its release, Loveless has been widely cited by critics as one of the greatest albums of all time, a landmark work of the shoegaze subgenre, and as a significant influence on various subsequent artists. In 2012, it was reissued as a two-CD set, including remastered tracks and a previously unreleased half-inch analogue tape version, and peaked on several international charts. In 2013, Loveless was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).[9]


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  1. ^ The following sources have described Loveless as shoegaze:
    • "The 50 Best Shoegaze Albums of All Time". Pitchfork. 24 October 2016. p. 5. Archived from the original on 22 November 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
    • Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "My Bloody Valentine Biography". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 3 June 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
    • Fadele, Dele (9 November 1991). "Bloody Awe-Full!". NME. p. 32. Archived from the original on 10 March 2000. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
    • McCabe, Brian. "Songs for the loveless". Metro Times. Archived from the original on 5 February 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  2. ^ Vaziri, Aidin; Lassner, Bryan (1998). "My Bloody Valentine". In Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds.). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Detroit: Visible Ink Press. p. 797.
  3. ^ The following sources have described Loveless as dream pop:
  4. ^ Staff (30 September 2003). "Reviews: M83 – Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts". UNCUT. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  5. ^ Lester, Paul (12 March 2004). "I lost it". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 December 2020. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  6. ^ Kot, Greg. "My Bloody Valentine at the Aragon review". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 5 October 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  7. ^ Creation Records: My Bloody Valentine: Media:
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Q review was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Sager, Brooke (20 June 2020). "100 Best Albums of the '90s". Chron. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2020.